Olympics spoiler: See how the U.S. men's cross country team fared

Feb. 11, 2014

Simi Hamilton's family in the stands at the Laura Cross Country Center: Left to right, Al Beyer, his step-dad; Ruthie Brown, his mother; Sean Shean, a family friend; Jenny Hamilton, his sister, and an unidentified man. / Martha Bellisle / RGJ

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Half of the U.S. Men’s Cross Country Ski Team – top sprinters Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton -- made it through the qualification round at the freestyle sprint races on Tuesday, but failed to make it past the quarterfinals.

Newell of Shaftsbury, Vt., said the race, “Was the hardest sprint I’ve ever done” and said the course conditions were slow, hilly and tough. He was the top U.S. finisher at 18th place. Hamilton, of Aspen, Colo., was 27th.

“I didn’t feel great in qualification,” said Newell, 29. “I didn’t pace it quite right, so I had a good barf after that. I was not feeling good. I had a really bad headache into the heats but kind of regrouped and felt OK in the quarterfinal.”

But it ended there in a to-the-line finish.

Taking gold at the end of the finals was Ola Vigen Hattestad of Norway. Teodor Peterson of Sweden earned a silver medal and his teammate Emil Joensson took the bronze.

Two-time Olympian Torin Koos of Leavenworth, Wash., and Erik Bjornsen of Winthrop, Wash., failed to make the 30-skier qualification cut out of a field of 85 skiers.

Koos finished the 1.8-kilometer course in 3:40:2 for 37th place. Bjornsen, at 22 the youngest member of the U.S. Ski Team, came in at 3:40:39 for 39th place.

Hamilton’s mother, Ruthie Brown of Aspen, Colo., was in the stands for his race, and said his recent win at a World Cup sprint race gave him the confidence to compete at an Olympic level.

“He’s psyched to be here but he’s realistic about his expectations,” Brown said. “For Simi, this will be a prelude to Korea” – the site of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.“He texted me last night and said no matter what happens, he will be just fine,” Brown said.

Newell said his plan was to be in a good position on the climb, but after he was pushed out by another skier, he had to work to get to the front, knowing his climbing strength.

But the tricky snow conditions ended that plan, he said.

“The course, there’s some changing conditions,” he said. “They salted some sections but didn’t salt others. You’ll ski through a section that’s kind of mushy and then you’ll ski through a section that’s rock hard. It’s weird. That made me get off balance a little bit.

But in this type of racing, you’ve got to be prepared for anything, he said.

“That’s the way sprinting is,” he said. “Every race is different.

The team will now look to a 15-kilometer classic race on Friday and then the four-by-10 kilometer relay on Sunday.